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The photo caught me off guard. The photographer took a bunch of photos, and that probably wasn't one I would have thought of because it was more of a close up than I'm used to, but it does show off some of my xeriscaped front yard.

I got my issue today. I rushed to tear open the black plastic wrapper and quickly browesed through the pages to find the article you're all talking about.

Not sure I found it. I did read something about COPA and someone named Mark Lewis but this guy didn't look anything like our Mark. I mean, he didn't have glasses on for one thing. And as far as I know, our Mark is Aztecan, not Lewis. That's such a gringo sounding name and of course we all know our Mark is a vaquero from the high plains of New Mexico.

I have had a lot of good response though, including a long discussion about the benefits vs. the risks of Chantix....quote Mark

I saw on TV an ad for a law firm that deals with suits against the maker of Chantix. It listed suicide and car accidents as possible reasons to sue. Is this extreem side effect really happening that much to users of Chantix?

It listed suicide and car accidents as possible reasons to sue. Is this extreem side effect really happening that much to users of Chantix?

It certainly messed with my head. I woke up one morning thinking all sorts of dark and suicidal thoughts, which is totally unlike me. I didn't know what the hell was going on or where the thoughts were coming from. No matter how much I tried to not think them, I still thought them. Not a very nice experience. I think it was the next day when I realised that the only thing different in my life was that I'd been taking Chantix for about two-three weeks. (the details are hazy now, it was over a year ago) I started googling and discovered that suicidal ideation was a common enough side-effect for it to have caused several deaths.

Needless to say, I dumped the Champix in the garbage and ...... went out and bought some ciggies.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I was warned. I know you told me your entire story when it happened, but I can't remember if your doctor warned you about it or not. Of course, due to your alarmist spiel I've had the boxes sitting here now for a year and the expiration date is right now, though I'd assume that it's still good for a bit longer. I'm planning on starting it next month and will take a sedative with it each day. I'm more worried about it messing up my sleep. I promise to phone Joel up if I feel like jumping out of my fourth floor windows at any time.

Sustiva never bothered me at all actually, though IIRC I was only on it for six months or so as having been on Viramune before that for quite some time had made me completely resistant to other NNRTIs, though at the time they were shooting in the dark as there were no geno/phenotype test available. Hooray for treatment in the 90's!

I was warned. I know you told me your entire story when it happened, but I can't remember if your doctor warned you about it or not. Of course, due to your alarmist spiel I've had the boxes sitting here now for a year...

No, I wasn't told but it was partly my own damned fault for not checking into the possible side-effects before I took it. I normally do with any new meds I might take.

I think you should give it a try - it's only a minority of us who go bonkers with the stuff. Besides, fore-warned is fore-armed. When I did the hep C treatment, I knew full well, before starting, that it could have some pretty heavy duty side-effects, such as depression and also something known to heppers as "riba rage". I experienced riba rage (named after the ribaviron component of the treatment), but I KNEW it was the drug and was therefore able to keep a lid on it. Knowing the mood problems were being chemically induced made all the difference. Suicide is also a problem for people on the hep C treatment, which I also was fully aware of at the time. I know if I had started feeling suicidal back then, I would have immediately contacted my doctor and done something about it.

The problem is when the suicidal ideation comes out of no-where, for no apparent reason. You tend to think it's real, not realising it's the drugs, and if you think it's real, you're more likely to act on it. That's why I'm so adamant about people being warned before hand.

I'm not so sure you'd need to take a sedative with it. Maybe at night, but you might find you enjoy the dreams. They never disturbed my sleep, but of course your experience may vary. If I were you, I'd see how it went first.

Mark, I quite enjoyed the Champix dreams. The suicidal ideation, not so much. As for Sustiva, there's no way in hell I'll ever even try that stuff when there are other drugs I can use. I've seen too many people have trouble with it and with my history of meds messing with my head (Champix wasn't the first), I think I'd rather be safe than sorry.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Yeah, I've never felt suicidal with Chantix, but I did with Sustiva. And I couldn't get it under control. But, the only side effect I've had with Chantix is the dreams, which don't bother me. And the other thing I learned about Chantix is to take it with a meal or snack, because of the nausea.

Sorry for the hijack, Mark.

Logged

I've never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.-Clarence Darrow

I was diagnosed with COPD in 2006. I tried Chantix but it made me crazy. I had cold sweats and was often disoriented. I was a professional quitter (cigarettes, that is) and over the thirty plus years that I smoked, I quit dozens of times. What did it for me was full blown AIDS (yes, I know that term isn't used anymore) PCP and thrush in 2007. I was in hospital for eight days and have never smoked since. But I do not rec comend PCP, thrush or AIDS as a means for quitting!